V001 / JSI / T108

Matjaž Humar from Jožef Stefan Institute, Condensed Matter Physics, who is currently a Marie Curie fellow at Harvard Medical School, has published in collaboration with researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital an article Bioabsorbable polymer optical waveguides for deep-tissue photomedicine in Nature Communications. The authors made a new class of optical waveguides for deep-tissue photomedicine made out of biocompatible and biodegradable polymer materials, which can be implanted into the body and are naturally degraded over time. The waveguides enable the use of a number of medical laser treatments and diagnostics deep into the body, which were till now only limited to the surface of the body due to limited penetration of light into the tissues. As an example of a possible application, laser wound closure is demonstrated, leading to faster healing and less scarring.